Another new dad worry post; first BP

[Bogertophis]

Aha, gotcha both. That makes sense. I was only concerned about how long it's been, since it'll be nearly three weeks since she last ate if all goes afford to plan. And I believe that's correct yes, she was in a rack from what the breeders messages show.

That all makes sense to me. As far as temp dispersement with her UTH, yeah the gradient is good as mentioned. High 80s to 90 (it'll be more precise in a day or two with the new thermostat). I feel a lot better about that end of things.

Small hide measurements looked good to me from what I'm seeing. They are just slightly bigger than the black plastic tupperware you see in the photo.

As for food, she was being fed mice but not sure about eyes open or closed. The one I tried with was closed.

Truth be told, I want to move her to frozen thawed but may end up doing live for this first feeding. I'm not feeling super confident about switching her while also getting her cozy for her first meal with me.

Idk though I'm torn.

I'm very much in favor of feeding f/t or fresh/killed (ie. dead prey) for safety (sooner or later, snakes get injured, sometimes badly, when rodents squirm & twist enough to get in a bite) but I've bred & raised many snakes, & I usually feed live to start off, just to make sure their instincts kick in properly. After several meals, they generalize better- they recognize the scent & they're hungry & used to eating in their new home, so they're more determined to eat. I would NOT try to switch to f/t prey yet- for best results, you want to feed your snake food that it recognizes for a few feedings- she's already stressed enough with a new home. Time to "settle in" (time for the snake to feel safe in new surroundings) is more important than you might think.

There is NO danger feeding live rodents (mice or rats) as long as their eyes are closed- they do not fight back at all. But, "fuzzy mice" as they're called, are too small to be a real meal- at least if you're only feeding one. (The equivalent to a hopper would be at least 4 or 5 fuzzies. Btw, I've also raised rodents for decades to supply all my snakes.) What was the breeder feeding her?

When it comes to feeding f/t, the trick with BPs is that the dead rodent MUST be warm enough- & rodents have a high metabolism. So once you thaw* a frozen rodent in cool water (*check to make sure it's thawed by feeling the rodent mid-body by hand- it should all be soft, not frozen), then you want to soak them for about 5 minutes in very warm (not hot) water to warm them up, then blot off the water on a paper towel. They do cool off fast, so either offer immediately, or what many have the best results with is using a blow dryer- especially on the rodent's head to really heat them up right before offering. (No fancy hairstyling needed. ) Obviously, you only want to do this when you can see first that your snake is 'looking for prey'.

If you don't have feeding tongs, you need them- otherwise your nice warm hand has a bigger heat signature than the little mouse you're waving around...guess which one your BP will likely chomp on? I prefer large (12") tweezers, but you can also use blunt-ended BBQ kitchen tongs to feed snakes too. Just don't get in their way, haha.

Now what I'd do with this snake to feed: if she's taking live fuzzy mice, I wouldn't try to feed her from the tongs. I also don't like to leave young rodents crawling around in a snake's home, because they sometimes get lost in the substrate, or the snake gets a mouthful of substrate instead of the rodent when they try to catch it.

A good trick with BPs (it helps them feel braver, like they have the "upper hand") is to put the live fuzzy(s) in a shallow flat bottomed bowl that's deep enough so they can't escape (about 2.5 - 3") and heavy enough so the snake leaning on the side won't tip the bowl. In this way, the snake can see, study, & strike the fuzzy in their own good time, in the dark of night (you don't have to stay up) & they feel safely out of reach of their prey too- snakes aren't always as brave or confident as you might think. They have to learn, just like all youngsters, & they get better quickly with practice.

BTW, that's a beautiful BP you've got there.

And- I almost forgot- Snakes get much easier to figure out when you've kept them for a while- they're not like other pets, plus, they can have their own personality quirks too.